Raanjhanaa | Analysis Of Best Film Of 2013 | Blue Notebook

There was a little discussion on facebook and offline on how a film like Raanjhanaa whose mere selection was debated with some heat, won the best film of 2013 at Blue Notebook. Simple answer – it was an audience poll. But why audience appreciated it over films with more substance? Raanjhanaa was definitely one of the better made films but was it the best? Maybe it was because it was a perfect blend of everything a film demands.

Raanjhanaa might not be the best album from ARR’s catalogue but some of the songs were right there in most loved songs of the year. Songs like Banarasiya and Tum Tak were character driven and brought up the individual elements of the character. On the other hand songs like Piya Milenge and Tu Man Shudi were situation driven and pushed the story well. Piya Milenge had the haunting feel which made audience nervous to the core. The folk and classical blend in the musical was perfect manifestation of Benaras.

Story was developed in two parts – both sort of coming of age tales. First story was about innocent one sided love where the lover feels cheated brutally by the girl. He acts on whim and causes catastrophe. Second story is where the lover matures and faces his mistake in the hard way. His act of penance might seem foolish to people, it bring about the conclusion. In the end, the lover, still very much in love, is tired of the pursuit. Somehow, it reminded me of climax of Gone With The Wind.

Performances of different characters, with special mention for the side characters, were top notch. Only exception was a little broken but still her best ever – in Sonam Kapoor who played the lead lady. In cameo Abhay Deol nailed the role. Zeeshan and Swara were immaculate in their interpretation of characters. These two characters alone worth a re-watch. However, the USP of the film was Dhanush who played a Tamil Brahmin born and brought up in Benaras. His accent had the Tamil feel and somehow it worked for the character. He nailed almost each scene of the film.

As a package, Raanjhanaa was able to attract class and mass alike. For Hindi belt watching a Tamil star speaking chaste Hindi was a delight. Arguments will be there in favor of other films but still it was hardly a wrong choice.